A simple wish

Kettering students are getting creative to help make one eight-year-old boy's wish come true.

Kettering students are opening their hearts and putting their art skills to work on behalf of an eight-year-old boy in Canada suffering from acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), a cancer of the white blood cells in bone marrow. Shane Bernier, whose eighth birthday is May 30, is trying to get into the Guinness Book of World Records for receiving the most birthday cards for a single birthday.

At the age of five Shane was diagnosed with ALL, which is fatal if left untreated. ALL is most prevalent in children ages four to five, and only 50 percent of children with ALL are treatable. In week 108 of his 130 weeks of treatment, Shane suffered a relapse and despite this bad news his spirit remains strong.

On May 30, Shane will turn eight years old. For his birthday he hasn't asked for toys, games, or money. Instead Shane has asked for something much simpler; birthday cards. Lots of birthday cards, 350 million to be exact, which just so happens to be the Guinness World Record for most cards received by a single person (over a span of 17 years). Currently, supporters of Shane are attempting to have a new record created for most cards received in a single year.

realSERVICE, a student service organization founded at Kettering, will have a table set up at lunch time in the Great Court of the Campus Center with blank cards and art supplies for people to make a birthday card for Shane. realSERVICE will also collect purchased birthday cards to include with the handmade cards. On May 25 all the cards made and collected will be mailed to Shane for his birthday. The greater Flint Community is welcome to drop off cards during the lunch hour or come to the campus center to make a card.